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Lots of interest for Inuvik's Arctic Energy and Emerging Technologies Conference and Tradeshow

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Vicky Grégoire-Tremblay, marketing and tourism manager for the Town of Inuvik, says the town has a jam-packed schedule of events during June. One of the largest is the Arctic Energy and Emerging Technologies Conference and Tradeshow, which is the recently rebranded Inuvik Petroleum Show. Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

Luckily for her workload, Vicky Grégoire-Tremblay, marketing and tourism manager for the Town of Inuvik, has found a high level of interest in the upcoming second annual Arctic Energy and Emerging Technologies Conference and Tradeshow.

There’s lots of interest,” said Grégoire-Tremblay. “What I found different this year was we have lots of people that are actually talking to us and connecting to us without us even approaching them.”

The conference used to be known as the Inuvik Petroleum Show, when it focused primarily on the oil and gas industry.

Since the downturn in that industry in the North, the show has been rebranded as an all-encompassing energy conference.

I think we’ve already reached that point where we have to look at other ways to produce energy,” said Grégoire-Tremblay. “People are interested in other ways to produce energy. I think that there’s no one solution that fits all, but it’s through a combination of different sources of energy that we’ll be able to come up with a system that works in the Arctic.”

Slated for the conference are two days of conferences, speeches, workshops, panels and networking opportunities.

Speakers at the event include Claudine Lee, head of environment and communities for Dominion Diamond Corporation; Roberta Bondar, the world’s first neurologist in space; Chantal Morin, senior project officer at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission; and many more.

Grégoire-Tremblay said the event will serve to give organizations new ideas about energy opportunities in the Arctic and a chance to connect with other industry players.

I think, in terms of networking, there’s definitely an interest for the event, and also in terms of establishing a strong energy interest in the North,” she said.

The conference itself is only for delegates, but the public will be able to visit the tradeshow area.

The show’s size will be similar to last year. It isn’t meant to be a profit generator on its own, but Grégoire-Tremblay says it should serve as something of an economic booster for the community with people flying in, staying in hotels and eating at local restaurants.

The conference is June 13 and 14.

June will have plenty of other opportunities, too.

The Canadian Arctic Aviation Tour will be performing an airshow June 8, the Winnipeg Art Gallery will be holding sessions in town early June, the town’s bylaw is hosting a bike ride, and Aboriginal Day is coming up.

It’s going to be super busy,” said Grégoire-Tremblay.